Reassurance in parenting

Obviously, at times, parenting can be really tough. So every once in a while it is really nice to get some sort of reassurance that you are doing a good job. Each night at bedtime Garrison gets to pick out two books that we read. After that he usually requests that I sing him a song or two or maybe even the same song 20 times. Obviously, it's because I have an awesome voice. Ha, seriously, I hope Adam doesn't listen in to these night time singing sessions. I'm horrible. Garrison's favorite bed time books are Dora and Max. He even has Max memorized. He likes to say the words before I say them and he's pretty much got it down. His favorite night time song is Jesus loves me. Which has been good because it lead to a bunch of questions. Where does Jesus live? Can Jesus come play tomorrow? Etc etc. So yesterday morning, we were driving and Garrison said one of his trucks was about to eat him. I said no, it won't hurt you, mommy will protect you. Garrison's response was "no, that is Jesus' job." Ahhhhh and that is the reassurance I needed yesterday. To know that I"m teaching him values that will last a life time and that my teachings of Jesus are seeping in his ever expanding brain. It was a really cool parenting moment and I'm so proud of my little guy!

couponing anyone?!

It seems like the craze lately is couponing. Has anyone seen the show Extreme Coupon? That's where I first became aware of it. The first show I watched was a lady that bought $1000 worth of groceries and paid $40. That's insane. and impressive. So the next day, I got online to start looking up how they do this. Completely stressed me out. This extreme couponing definitely isn't for me. Who seriously has 30-40 hours a week to devote strictly to clipping coupons, reading ads, shopping around?! Not this lady. The show did however make me aware of some of my spending habits. So i've been paying attention to store ads and deals on items we use and etc. I'm a walmart shopper bc of the convenience but lately have been hitting the sales at Albertson's.

Anyway, all that to preference how proud I was of myself on Saturday. With the baby coming up, I wanted to start a small stockpile of diapers and wipes. The stuff we will go through like crazy. My mom had forwarded me a one day only coupon to Babies R Us. The coupon happened to be the brand that I love for newborns, pampers swaddlers. The coupon was $8 off diapers and $3 off wipes (had to be pampers). So we went to babies R us and I grabbed the wipes I like. 500 ct for $14. I noticed it said buy pampers diapers and get half off the wipes. So do the math....$14/2 is 7 - 3 is $4. So I move onto the diapers. The swaddlers were 108 ct for $29.99. (first off, I had totally forgotten how ridiculous diapers are priced!!!!) So do the math....$30 - 8 is $22. So I figured I'd spend a little under $30. Not great, but still saving me $12. So I go to check out and end up spending $17. She rang everything up, I didn't scam or cheat anyone, but I still am not really 100% sure how I did it. (Note: I had bought a couple other items bc I had a gift card, so I didnt' really start looking at my receipt until I got in the car). I guess the diapers were on sale bc they ended up costing me $15 and the wipes, for 500 wipes!!, ended up costing me $1.49. So I'm really proud of myself for driving the extra distance and using my coupon and getting a heck of a deal. Even if I'm not 100% sure how I did. Which this is also the reason that coupons stress me out. My only wish was that I had realized how great of a deal it was and doubled up on it. Oh well. Live and Learn. Welcome to my life of couponing. :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Garrison!!

Garrison turned 3 on June 28th. It doesn't quit seem possible. The past 3 years have flown bye and Garrison has been the light of our lives since the day he was born. I look at my sweet boy and don't see anything baby about him. He is really turning into a sweet, loving, and fun guy but he is definitely all boy. His favorite things are trucks, the bigger the better, and mud pits. Every day he takes the cushions off our couch and turns the couch (bc the bottom is black) into a mud pit for his trucks. He can play cars and trucks for hours. His favorite show is Diego and his birthday theme was Go Diego Go and we had a pool party. He was surrounded by about 30 friends and family, whom have all been in his life since birth. He is so loved and that makes my heart happy. This was the first year that he really loved opening gifts. He would open a gift and ooh and awe over it and then turn around and grab another one "how about this one?" he'd ask and when I said ok, he'd tear into it. I think about 90% of his gifts, were trucks, which was completely fine with Garrison. The next day I was sitting in the living room and Garrison come up and sat in my lap and said "Thank you for my party, mama." Talk about melting my heart. I just love this little guy! Here are a few milestones that occurred in the last year that I don't want to forget:

• Adam and I are still blessed with our schedules, that most of the time he is home with us. He goes to school two days a week and just moved up to the big kids class. He seems to enjoy this more and his teacher said he was bored in the 2 year old class room. He can count to 13 and I'm always trying to get him to practice his numbers. If he doesn't want to he says "I can't remember" but I’ve caught on to this little trick. He can also count some in Spanish, mostly just uno, dos, tres, and quatro (which he butchers).
• The past 4 nights he has gone to bed without his Lambo. Adam said last night that this makes him sad bc it's proof he is growing up too fast. Lambo has been his best friend for 3 years, but I think Diego and a great imagination have finally replaced him. Sigh :(
• I love our bed time routine, although some nights I really am tested on patience. Every night it's "5 more minutes" about 10 times, bc he just isn't ready for bed. We get to read 2 books together and then he crawls in bed. Sometimes I'll read him another book as long as he lays still and closes his eyes other nights he request that I rub his back or sing "Jesus" to him. He loves for me to sing Jesus Loves Me. He goes to Sunday school and always tells me Jesus loves mommy, Jesus loves daddy, etc. He also loves to thank Jesus for his snacks. 
• We were released from his GI specialist this year and the original diagnosis of EE has been contested. We don't have to go back for any testing unless symptoms reappear. He is medication free. Thank you God!! He is still seeing a urologist for his urine reflux, but has not had any complications with this, and our choice of not  putting him on a daily antibiotic has so far been fine. We only go back every 6 months for a kidney ultrasound to monitor it, but more than likely as he keeps getting taller he will outgrown this as well.
• Garrison was fully potty trained about 3 months ago.  He was so easy. He just picked right up on it. Now when he goes to the bathroom, he shuts the door and occasionally locks it, because he wants privacy. He has a stool, so he can wash his hands by himself. We still monitor him but for the most part, he is self sufficient.
• He eats like a bird. He loves healthy snacks. His favorites are carrots, yogurt, and cheese. Our friend Jason was here staying the weekend with us, and asked Garrison if he wanted pizza for dinner. Garrison's reply was "No, carrots are fine."He loves to help mommy water the plants. He loves to be naked. He loves to pee outside (we really have to watch he doesn't pull down his pants at inappropriate places!). He loves to pretend he is either a puppy or a horse. He hates getting water in his eyes. He is very bossy. He is starting to get a temper.

The last 3 years have been wonderful and we love watching this little guy grow up. I wish that time would slow down, that is my only complaint. Happy Birthday sweet boy and I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for you. xoxo 

These are my tattoos

I came home from work the other day and Garrison came running to greet me, which is his normal routine. He loves to have his mommy home. Today instead of "I missed you!" I heard "look at my tattoos!" This is my sweet boy, I guess he gets it from his daddy....

I think I decided that I've basically given up blogging this year because every time that I think Oh let's log on and blog about that, it reminds me of the 10  other things that I meant to blog about, and then I just feel overwhelmed! So today's blog won't be about something that occurred two months ago or me trying to catch up...it will simply be about what's on my mind today and the happenings of the Bal household present tense. If I find the time, I'll go back and blog about all the fun we've had in the past months, but I'm going to move on so that maybe I won't feel so overwhelmed to "back-blog" and maybe, just maybe, my blog won't be so lame.

Today, I went to the Dr for my 26 week check-up. (I feel the need to say that Adam and I are having a GIRL bc the "it's a girl blog" has been on my to-do list for a couple months now...ok, see I'm starting to stress myself out!)  We are beyond excited to be adding a girl to our little family and I can't wait to see how Adam is with her. He has always said he wanted a daddy's girl and I'm almost certain that from the moment he lays eyes on her, he will be in big, BIG trouble. At today's appt, she weighed 1 lb, 12 oz and is 12.5 inches long. She was very animated ( probably had a lot to do with the glucose screen, and that they had just made me drink 12 oz of orange syrup). She is definitely my child by the way she was loving the sugar. We saw her chomp her lips like she was smacking them and rub her eyes and yawn and then stick out her tongue. It amazes me. I would watch her everyday with a sonogram machine if I could afford one at home. How cool would that be "Hey let's see what the baby's doing" anytime I wanted. Oh to dream.....We can't wait to meet our little girl!!

Garrison. My sweet little boy turns 3 next month. He won't let me call him my baby. He says NO! I a big boy! He already loves his little sister. He talks to her in my belly and tickles her. He says tickle, tickle, tickle, while trying to tickle my belly. It's cute bc he even says it in a baby voice. If I'm laying on the couch, he will come over and lift my shirt a little bit and put his hand on my belly and just pat it. Let's hope his love for her continues because right now, he really has me amazed. Last night, we had chicken nachos. Garrison had taken the shredded cheese to the table and so I needed it and said to him "Garrison, I'll bring this right back" in order to avoid a fit. The boy loves cheese. I used it and took it back to him and he said "Thanks mom, I knew I could count on you." Ummm seriously?! Where did he learned that. He cracks me up on a daily basis!!

Expanding our family

Pretty much everyone already knows that Adam and I are expecting our second baby. What a blessing! I am 18 weeks right now and finally starting to feel somewhat "normal" again. I've felt so horrible this time around and that is partially to blame why I've had no motivation to do anything, except sleep. Maybe now that i'm feeling better I will get my blog caught up and blog more frequently. I'm sure I won't be too busy with a second baby or anything. Our next sonogram is scheduled for April 25th and then we can confirm whether we are having a boy or girl. At our NT sono, around 13 weeks, the sono lady thought we are having a girl but of course told us not to go out and buy a bunch of pink. I now have it in my head that i'm having a girl, so the anticipation of waiting another month is really killing me!! Several of my friends and my mom, haven't been able to resist buying cute little stuff in pink. I already have about 6  pink outfits, so if it's a boy I'm not sure what I'll do with these gifts! Either way, I love looking at it, and thinking about the baby inside my belly. Stay tuned....one more month!!

This looks safe....right?!

He's trimming out tree with a small electric saw while standing on one of my bar stools....My family might be rubbing off on him just a little bit. :)